Pre-bonded substrate for integrated circuit package and method of making the same

ABSTRACT

A substrate and a method of making thereof are disclosed. The substrate comprises an electrically conductive leadframe, the leadframe having a plurality of lands on a first side of the leadframe with a first recessed portion between the lands, and a plurality of routing leads on an opposing second side of the leadframe with a second recessed portion between the routing leads. The substrate also comprises a first bonding compound filling the first recessed portion. In one embodiment, the substrate also comprises a support material attached to the first bonding compound for holding the leadframe together. In another embodiment, the substrate comprises a second bonding compound filling the second recessed portion.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates to an integrated circuit (IC) package, and inparticular an IC package having a substrate with more than oneencapsulation compound or process.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

IC packages or substrates having more than one encapsulation compoundare known in the art, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,795,710.However, such an IC package may break during manufacturing and may haveissues when operating in high temperatures or in environments that cyclebetween high and low temperatures.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

In the light of the foregoing background, it is an object of the presentinvention to provide an alternate substrate and a method of makingthereof.

Accordingly, the present invention, in one aspect, is a substratecomprising an electrically conductive leadframe, the leadframe having aplurality of lands on a first side of the leadframe with a firstrecessed portion between the lands, and a plurality of routing leads onan opposing second side of the leadframe with a second recessed portionbetween the routing leads. The substrate also comprises a first bondingcompound having a first portion thereof filling the first recessedportion, and comprises a plurality of bonding pads disposed on theplurality of routing leads.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the first bondingcompound has a coefficient of thermal expansion between 7 and 15.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the substrate furthercomprises a support material attached to the leadframe from the firstside, the support material covering the first bonding compound and theplurality of lands. In a further embodiment, a plurality of solder padsis disposed on the plurality of lands therebefore, and as such thesupport material covers the plurality of solder pads.

In another embodiment, the substrate further comprises a second bondingcompound disposed on the second side of the leadframe, the secondbonding compound filling the second recessed portion.

In yet another embodiment, the first bonding compound further comprisesa second portion covering the first portion and the plurality of lands.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a method ofmanufacturing a substrate is disclosed. The method first patterns aleadframe on a first side, forming a plurality of lands and a firstrecessed portion. A first bonding compound is then disposed on the firstside of the leadframe, the first bonding compound having a first portionfilling the first recessed portion. Then, the leadframe is patterned onan opposing second side forming a plurality of routing leads and asecond recessed portion. Lastly, a plurality of bonding pads is disposedon the plurality of routing leads. The first bonding compound preventsdisplacement of the plurality of routing leads.

In one embodiment, the method further comprises the step of selectivelydisposing a non-conductive die attach material onto a predetermined areaof the second side of said substrate, the die attach material fillingthe second recessed portion and covering the plurality of routing leadswithin said predetermined area.

There are many advantages to the present invention. One advantage isthat the first bonding compound holds the leadframe together even afterthe routing leads are revealed, such that they will not fall off ordisplace during the subsequent steps of the manufacturing process, forexample die attaching and wire bonding. The predetermined thickness ofthe first bonding compound ensures that the holding strength is strongenough for the subsequent steps.

Another advantage of the present invention is that the chance of the ICpackage made from such leadframe being damaged is reduced by the carefulchoice of the coefficient of thermal expansion of the first bondingcompound. The coefficient of thermal expansion of the first bondingcompound is chosen and designed to be between that of the semiconductordie and a conventional printed circuit board which is usually connectedto the lands of the IC package through the solder joints. When the ICpackage connected to the conventional printed circuit board is exposedto high temperature extremes, the stress caused by the coefficient ofexpansion mismatch between the IC package and the printed circuit boardis concentrated at the connecting solder joints therebetween. With ahigh amount of stress the solder connection may fracture. This stresscan be reduced by having at least one transitional expansion ratematerial disposed between the die and printed circuit board. The firstbonding compound with an expansion rate between that of the die and theprinted circuit board will act as a buffer between the two expansionextremes and as such will result in a lower stress on the solder joints.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a process of manufacturing an integratedcircuit chip package according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 a-2 k is a cross-sectional view of an integrated circuit chippackage at different steps of the process of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a process of manufacturing an integratedcircuit chip package according to another embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 a-4 k is a cross-sectional view of an integrated circuit chippackage at different steps of the process of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a process of manufacturing an integratedcircuit chip package according to another embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 6 a-6 m is a cross-sectional view of an integrated circuit chippackage at different steps of the process of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of a process of manufacturing an integratedcircuit chip package according to another embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 8 a-8 m is a cross-sectional view of an integrated circuit chippackage at different steps of the process of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart of a process of manufacturing an integratedcircuit chip package according to another embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 10 a-10 l is a cross-sectional view of an integrated circuit chippackage at different steps of the process of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart of a process of manufacturing an integratedcircuit chip package according to another embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 12 a-12 k is a cross-sectional view of an integrated circuit chippackage at different steps of the process of FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 is a top view of the substrate at FIG. 2 g.

FIG. 14 a is a side view of an IC package bonded to a printed circuitboard at room temperature.

FIG. 14 b is a side view of the IC package in FIG. 14 a in hightemperature where the CTE of the IC package is lower than that of theprinted circuit board.

FIG. 14 c shows a solder crack between the IC package and the printedcircuit board.

FIG. 15 a is a cross-sectional view of an IC package showing a dieattach material filling the second recessed portion and attaching to thesemiconductor die, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 b is a cross-sectional view of an IC package showing separatedie attach materials filling the second recessed portion and attachingto the semiconductor die, according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 16 is a flow chart of a process of manufacturing an integratedcircuit chip package according to another embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 17 a-l is a cross-sectional view of an integrated circuit chippackage at different steps of the process of FIG. 16.

FIG. 18 a is a cross-sectional view of a substrate using aphotolithographic solder mask as both the first bonding compound and thesecond bonding compound, according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 18 b is a cross-sectional view of a substrate using aphotolithographic solder mask as the first bonding compound and an epoxymaterial as the second bonding compound, according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 19 a is a top view of a substrate showing a support ring providedsurrounding the substrate, according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 19 b is a top view of the substrate in FIG. 19 a, with a tie barconnecting each routing lead and the die attach pad to the support ring.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As used herein and in the claims, “comprising” means including thefollowing elements but not excluding others.

As used herein and in the claims, “couple” or “connect” refers toelectrical coupling or connection either directly or indirectly via oneor more electrical means unless otherwise stated.

As used herein and in the claims, “leadframe” or “substrate leadframe”means a structure made from an electrically conductive material, whereother materials and compounds are added thereon to form a substrate. A“substrate” means a structure having a leadframe and additionalmaterials or compounds, where a semiconductor die is attached thereto toform an IC package.

FIGS. 1 and 2 a-2 h shows a method of manufacturing a substrate and anIC package according to a first embodiment of the present invention.FIG. 2 a shows an electrically conductive substrate leadframe 20, madefrom copper for example, at its initial state. In step 100, a firstportion of the leadframe 20 is etched at a first side thereof to form afirst pattern on the first side. The first pattern comprises a pluralityof lands 22 on the surface of the first side, adapted to electricallyconnect to an external device, such as a printed circuit board, and alsocomprises a first recessed portion 24 which is recessed relative to theplurality of lands 22. The first pattern can alternately be called asthe landing pattern. The substrate after step 100 is shown in FIG. 2 b.

In step 102, a first bonding compound 21 is disposed on the first sideof the leadframe 20. The bonding compound 21 fills the first recessedportion 24 and also covers the plurality of lands 22. In an exemplaryembodiment, the first bonding compound 21 comprises a first portion thatfills the first recessed portion 24 and being coplanar to the lands 22,and a second portion that extends beyond the first portion, covering thefirst recessed portion 24 and also the plurality of lands 22. In anexemplary embodiment, the first portion of the first bonding compound 21is coplanar to the plurality of lands 22 at the first side of theleadframe 20. In an exemplary embodiment, the first bonding compound 21covers the plurality of lands 22 by a predetermined thickness dependingon various factors such as the size of the leadframe 20 and the depth ofthe first recessed portion 24. This step is also called pre-bonding, andthe presence and the thickness of the first bonding compound 21 improvesthe ability to hold the leadframe 20 in place during subsequent steps ofthe manufacturing process, thereby preventing displacement of certainportions of the leadframe 20 as discussed below. The substrate afterstep 102 is shown in FIG. 2 c.

In one embodiment, in step 103 the leadframe 20 is optionally thinned toa desired thickness. The thinning step can be performed either byetching the leadframe 20 from the second surface or other known methods.The substrate after step 103 is shown in FIG. 2 d.

In step 104, a photomask 26 is coated onto the leadframe 20 at a secondside of the leadframe. The photomask 26 defines a second pattern on thesecond side of the leadframe 20. In one embodiment, the second patterncomprises a plurality of routing leads 25, each leading from a bondingsite to a corresponding land 22, and also comprises a second recessedportion 27 between and recessed relative to the routing leads 25. Thephotomask 26 can for example be blue ink or other materials known in theart. The substrate after step 104 is shown in FIG. 2 e.

In step 106, the leadframe 20 is etched at the second side of theleadframe 20 to form the second pattern, or called the routing pattern.This etching process continues until the leadframe 20 is completelyetched away at portions that are neither covered by the photomask 26 norfilled with the first bonding compound 21 at the first side, i.e. thesecond recessed portion 27 is adjoining the first recessed portion 24.This step reveals individual routing leads 25, with the first bondingcompound 21 and the second recessed portion 27 completely surroundingeach individual routing lead 25 thereby electrically separating theplurality of routing leads 25. The unmasked portion of the photomask 26becomes the second recessed portion 27 between the plurality of routingleads 25 after etching. After this etching step, the first bondingcompound 21 filling the first recessed portion 24 is exposed from thesecond side, and the plurality of routing leads 25 are held togetheronly by the first bonding compound 21, as the leadframe 20 between therouting leads 25 is completely etched away and became the secondrecessed portion 27. Therefore, the first bonding compound 21 needs tobe thick enough to prevent falling off or displacement of the routingleads 25. After etching, the photomask 26 is removed by conventionalmethods. The substrate after step 106 is shown in FIG. 2 f.

In step 108, a bonding layer is disposed on the leadframe 20 at thesecond side, forming a plurality of bonding pads 28 on the plurality ofbonding sites on the routing leads 25 for bonding to at least onesemiconductor die. In various embodiments, the bonding pads 28 are madeof gold, silver, nickel palladium gold or other metals or alloys knownin the art. In a preferred embodiment, the disposition of the bondinglayer is performed by electroless plating. In general, the substrate isconsidered finished when it has reached the state just before the dieattaching step, for example as shown in FIG. 2 g. The subsequent stepsstarting from the die attaching step are referred to as the IC packagingsteps.

In step 110, the semiconductor die 30 is attached onto the leadframe 20at the second side, and the semiconductor die 30 is bonded to theplurality of bonding pads 28 through a plurality of bonding wires 32. Inan exemplary embodiment, the semiconductor die 30 is disposed on andphysically attached to at least one routing lead 25 through anelectrically insulating die attach pad (not shown). The semiconductordie 30 is electrically connected to the routing leads 25 through thebonding wires 32 and the bonding pads 28 where the bonding pads 28 arenot disposed directly under the semiconductor die 30. The routing lead25 can subsequently be routed directly under the semiconductor die 30 toone of the lands 22. The IC package after step 110 is shown in FIG. 2 h.

In step 112, the structure in FIG. 2 h is encapsulated at the secondside of the leadframe 20 with an encapsulation compound 34. Theencapsulation compound 34 fills the second recessed portion 27 andcovers the plurality of routing leads 25, the plurality of bonding pads28, the semiconductor die 30 and the bonding wires 32. The secondencapsulation compound 34 is in contact with the first bonding compound21 at areas common to both first recessed portion 24 and second recessedportion 27, as the leadframe material is completely etched away at thoseareas. The IC package after step 112 is shown in FIG. 2 i.

In step 114, the first bonding compound 21 is selectively removed toexpose the lands 22 at the first side of the leadframe 20. In apreferred embodiment, the first bonding compound 21 is selectivelyremoved to expose the lands 22 with the remaining first bonding compound21 being level or coplanar to the lands 22 and filling the firstrecessed portion 24, i.e. the second portion of the first bondingcompound 21 is removed, leaving the first portion attached. Afterwards,solder pads 36 are disposed on each of the lands 22 for attaching to theexternal device in step 116. The IC package after step 114 and step 116are shown in FIGS. 2 j and 2 k respectively.

It is known to one skilled in the art that the above process, andsubsequent processes described below, are done at the substrate striplevel, and a step of singulation from the substrate strip to produceindividual IC packages is performed after step 116. It is alsoappreciated that other techniques applicable to facilitate themanufacturing process such as aligning the molds to the substrate stripcan be used in the embodiments of the present invention.

In a second embodiment of the present invention as shown in FIGS. 3 and4 a-4 k, the leadframe 20 is first etched at the first side (step 200),then the first bonding compound 21 is disposed on the first side (step202), and the optional thinning step is performed (step 203). In thisembodiment, the bonding layer is then disposed (step 204) before coatingthe photomask 26 (step 206) and etching the leadframe on the second sideto reveal the routing leads 25 (step 208). That means the bonding layeris first disposed on the leadframe 20 at the second side, then thephotomask 26 is disposed on the leadframe 20 at the second side,covering the routing leads 25 as well as the bonding pads 28, as shownin FIG. 4 f. The semiconductor die 30 is then attached with wire bonding(step 210), the encapsulation compound 34 is disposed (step 212), thefirst bonding compound 21 is selectively removed from the first side(step 214), and solder pads 36 are disposed on the lands 22 (step 216).The substrate or IC package at different steps of the process is shownin FIGS. 4 a-4 k.

As the first encapsulation compound 21 of the pre-bonding step providesthe power to hold the leadframe 20 together, when additional firstencapsulation compound 21 is disposed to cover the entire leadframe 20,the depth of the first recessed portion 24 can be further reduced. Thatmeans a thinner lead frame can be used and as such results in reducedlead frame material usage and also reduced thickness of the final ICpackage. In a specific embodiment, in a leadframe 20 of 5.0 milthickness, the depth of the first recessed portion 24 is 2.5 mil. Itfollows that the second recessed portion 27 also is 2.5 mil thick.

The thickness of the first bonding compound 21 used in the aboveembodiment is dependent on the thickness of the leadframe 20 and thedepth of the first recessed portion. In an exemplary embodiment, wherethe first recessed portion 24 is 2.5 mil deep, the thickness of thefirst bonding compound 21 is around 1-5 mil over the first recessedportion 24, such that enough holding strength can be provided to holdthe leadframe 20 together.

In another exemplary embodiment where the leadframe 20 is 20 mil thickand the first recessed portion 24 is 10 mil deep, the first bondingcompound 21 only fills the first recessed portion 24 and does not extendover the lands 22. In other words, the first bonding compound 21 onlycomprises the first portion and without the second portion. One of thereasons is that the first bonding compound 21 having a thickness of 10mil is already able to provide the required strength to hold theleadframe 20 together, therefore additional thickness over the leadframe20 is not necessary. However, a step to grind and/or polish to thecontact areas will be required based on the amount of bonding compound21 that covers the contacts during this process.

By using bonding wires 32 to electrically connect the semiconductor die30 to the routing leads 25, the bonding sites of the routing leads 25does not need to be limited to be directly under the semiconductor die30. In one exemplary embodiment, a lateral extent of the plurality ofbonding pads 28 is larger than the size of the semiconductor die 30.That means a larger area is able to be used for bonding to thesemiconductor die 30, without making the routing directly under or nearthe semiconductor die 30 overcrowded. This is especially effective whenmany lands 22 are needed for the semiconductor die 30.

In one embodiment, the bonding pads 28 are located as close to thesemiconductor die 30 as the technology allows. This minimizes the wirelengths in the IC package and thus optimizes the yield and performanceof the IC package while minimizes wire material usage and also the sizeof the entire IC package. In one embodiment, at least one routing lead25 runs between two adjacent bonding pads 28 in a routing pattern ofrouting leads 25.

In an exemplary embodiment, the first encapsulation compound 21 has acoefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) between the CTE of a conventionalsemiconductor die (around 2.8-3.2) and the CTE of a conventional printedcircuit board (around 23). This choice of CTE is essential to theability of the IC package to operate at high temperatures, as explainedbelow.

Referring to FIG. 14 a, when the IC package is bonded to the printedcircuit board at room temperature, the solder pads 36 of the IC packageis aligned to the corresponding ports of the printed circuit board. Whenthe printed circuit board and the IC package are operating at a hightemperature, as shown in FIG. 14 b, both the printed circuit board andthe IC package will expand, but at different rates as mentioned above.As such, the expansion creates a stress force on the solder jointsbetween the IC package and the printed circuit board and at the lands 22of the IC package. When the stress force is too large, the solder jointswill break, making the entire product that uses the IC package unusable.Even the solder joint may be able to withstand such stress force withoutbreaking, after a number of cycles between high temperature and lowtemperature the solder joint will start to fatigue and may break at thesame stress force as time passes by, as illustrated by a solder crack 45in FIG. 14 c. Therefore, the CTE of the first bonding compound 21 needsto be carefully chosen to ensure the stress force is spread aroundbetween the first bonding compound 21 and the solder joints for optimalperformance.

In one embodiment, the first bonding compound 21 is also anencapsulation compound. In one embodiment, the first bonding compound 21has a CTE between 7-15. In an exemplary embodiment, the first bondingcompound 21 is an engineered plastic material e.g. epoxy or otherthermoset or thermoplastic compound having a CTE of around 12 (e.g.11-13).

In one embodiment, the CTE of the first bonding compound 21 is dependenton the thickness of the leadframe 20. In general, the CTE of the firstbonding compound is more towards the high end when the leadframe 20 isthinner and vice versa.

In one embodiment, the selective removing of the first bonding compound21 (step 114) is performed by a user of the IC package. That means theIC package is transported with the first bonding compound 21 stillcovering the lands 22. In an exemplary embodiment, the substrate istransported to the user right before the die attachment and wire bondingstep.

In an exemplary embodiment, the first bonding compound 21 isconveniently mechanically removable by using a polishing machine forexample. A user of the IC package mechanically removes the first bondingcompound 21 from the IC package to reveal the lands 22 of the IC packagebefore attaching the solder pads 36 and bonding the IC package to theprinted circuit board. To completely remove the second portion of thefirst bonding compound 21 for attachment of solder pads 36 andsubsequent bonding to the printed circuit board, the first bondingcompound 21 should be 3 mil or less in thickness at the stage of finalpolish. If the initial thickness of the bonding compound 21 over theleadframe 20 is more than 3 mil, a portion of the first bonding compound21 will be first polished using a coarser grit material to reduce thethickness to less than 3 mil for the final polishing step.

In another exemplary embodiment of the present invention as shown inFIGS. 5 and 6 a-6 m, a support material is used in additional to thefirst bonding compound 21. The leadframe 20 is still first etched at thefirst side (step 300, FIG. 6 b) to define the lands 22 and the firstbonding compound 21 is disposed on the first side of the leadframe (step302, FIG. 6 c). Afterwards, the first bonding compound 21 is thenselectively removed to expose the lands 22 (step 304, FIG. 6 d), asperformed in the previous embodiments after the encapsulation compoundis disposed (step 112 or 212). The support material 38 is then attachedto the first side of the substrate contacting the lands 22 (step 306,FIG. 6 e). In one embodiment, the support material 38 is also adhered tothe first bonding compound 21 where the first bonding compound 21 iscoplanar to the lands 22.

The subsequent steps of the process from the optional thinning step(step 307) onwards until the encapsulation step at the second side ofthe substrate (step 316) is the same as the process as shown in FIGS. 2d to 2 k, shown in FIGS. 6 f-6 k. Instead of selectively removing thefirst bonding compound 21 in the previous embodiments (steps 114, 214),in this embodiment the entire support material 38 is removed, leavingonly the first bonding compound 21 with the lands 22 exposed (step 318,FIG. 6 l). Solder pads 36 are then disposed on the lands for bonding(step 320, FIG. 6 m) to finish the IC package.

The use of the support material 38 in this embodiment makes the process,especially the step of selectively removing the first bonding compound21 easier. This is due to the fact that the IC package before theaforementioned step only has the leadframe 20 and the first bondingcompound 21, which is much simpler than that in the previous embodimentswith the semiconductor die 30. Depending on the removing process, thesemiconductor die 30 or other components such as the encapsulationcompound 34 may be damaged during the removing process, thus reducingyield of the product. The support material 38 is attached afterselectively removing the first bonding compound 21 to provide theadditional strength needed to support the substrate for subsequentmanufacturing steps, which is previously provided by the removed portionof the first bonding compound 21.

Using the support material 38 also lowers the requirement for choosingthe appropriate material as the first bonding compound 21. The firstbonding compound 21 should have a CTE within a specific range, withsufficient strength to hold the leadframe 20 together and also beingeasy to remove by processes such as mechanical polishing. When thesupport material 38 is also used, each of these characteristics onlyneeds to be found in one of the materials. In an exemplary embodiment,the first bonding compound 21 is selected for having an appropriate CTE,and the support material 38 is selected for strength and ease ofremoval. In a specific embodiment, the support material 38 is a hightemperature tape currently used in QFN packages. This has an addedadvantage of the user not needing a separate polishing machine, as usersare likely to have such tape removal process ready and operating, thusmaking the process more convenient for the user.

In an alternative embodiment, the support material 38 is the onlymaterial holding the leadframe 20 together, which means that the firstbonding compound 21 is absent. The support material 38 would then beonly adhered to the lands 22, with the first recessed portion 24unfilled. Apart from holding the leadframe 20 together, the supportmaterial 38 also covers the lands 22 to prevent mold flash duringencapsulation of the IC package.

In various embodiments, the steps of selectively removing the firstbonding compound 21 and attaching the support material 38 can be done atany time between disposing the first bonding compound 21 and attachingthe semiconductor die 30. Preferably, the support material 38 isattached right after selectively removing the first bonding compound 21to minimize the chance of breaking of the substrate. In anotherembodiment, the initial disposal of the first bonding compound 21 onlyfills the first recessed portion 24 and does not extend over theleadframe 20, thus the selective removal is not needed and the supportmaterial 38 can be directly attached thereto.

In another embodiment of the present invention as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8a-8 k, the steps are the same as the embodiment as shown in FIG. 3 untilthe routing leads 25 are defined, i.e. steps 400-408 are the same assteps 200-208 (shown in FIGS. 8 a-8 g). In this embodiment however,after etching the leadframe on the second side, the first bondingcompound 21 is selectively removed (step 410, FIG. 8 h), similar to step318 of the above embodiment. Also, in this embodiment, solder pads 36are disposed onto the lands 22 (step 412, FIG. 8 i) before attaching thesupport material 38 to the first side of the substrate (step 414, FIG. 8j). The IC package is then finished with die attaching with wirebonding, disposing the encapsulation compound 34 and removing thesupport material 38 (steps 416-420, FIG. 8 k-8 m).

Having the solder pads 36 disposed on the lands 22 before attaching thesecond support material 38 further makes the IC package more convenientto use, as the user can now simply remove the support material 38 andthe IC package is ready for bonding to the printed circuit board. Thatmeans the user does not need to dispose solder pads 36 on his end.

In another embodiment as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 a-10 k, the leadframe20 is first etched on the first side (step 500, FIG. 10 b), then thefirst bonding compound 21 is disposed (step 502, FIG. 10 c) and theoptional thinning is performed (step 503, FIG. 10 d). Afterwards, thephotomask 26 is coated on the second side of the substrate (step 504,FIG. 10 e). After coating the photomask, the substrate is etched at thesecond side to define routing leads 25 (step 506, FIG. 10 f), and thenthe first bonding compound 21 is selectively removed to expose the lands22 (step 508, FIG. 10 g). As shown in FIG. 10 g, at this stage the lands22 and the routing leads 25 are both exposed. Afterwards, the depositionof bonding pads 28 and the solder pads 36 at the routing leads 25 andthe lands 22 respectively is performed in a single step (step 510, FIG.10 h). The support material 38 is then disposed (step 512, FIG. 10 i)for subsequent die attaching (step 514, FIG. 10 j) and encapsulating onsecond side (step 516, FIG. 10 k). The support material 38 is thenremoved to finish the IC package (step 518, FIG. 10 l).

By using a single step to deposit the bonding layer 28 and the solderpads 36, the total number of steps in manufacturing can be reduced, thussimplifying and optimizing the process.

In yet another exemplary embodiment as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 a-12 j,first the routing leads 25 are defined in a way identical to steps500-506 in the above embodiment (steps 600-606, FIGS. 12 b-12 f).Afterwards, a second bonding compound 40 is disposed on the second sideof the substrate (step 608, FIG. 12 g), covering the routing leads 25and the second recessed portion 27, and also contacting the firstbonding compound 21 from the second recessed portion 27. In oneembodiment, the second bonding compound 40 extends over the second sideof the-substrate by a predetermined distance, similar to the way thefirst bonding compound 21 extending over the first side of the leadframe20. Afterwards, the first bonding compound 21 and the second bondingcompound 40 are both selectively removed to be coplanar to the lands 22and the routing leads 25 respectively (step 610, FIG. 12 h). Bondingpads 28 and solder pads 36 are then simultaneously deposited on therouting leads 25 and the lands 22 respectively (step 612, FIG. 12 i).The semiconductor die 30 is then attached to the second side ofthe-substrate 20 with bonding wires 32 (step 614, FIG. 12 j), and theencapsulation compound 34 is then disposed to cover the semiconductordie 30, the bonding wires 32, the bonding pads 28 and also the secondbonding compound 40 to finish the IC package (step 616, FIG. 12 k).

This embodiment uses the second bonding compound 40 to fill the secondrecessed portion 27 in addition to using the first bonding compound 21to fill the first recessed portion 24 for holding the leadframe 20together. Therefore this second bonding compound 40 provides extraholding strength to the substrate during the subsequent steps to finishthe substrate and IC package (steps 610 to 616, FIGS. 12 i through 12k), thus further reducing the chance of the routing leads 25 beingdisplaced during these steps.

In one embodiment, the support material 38 as shown in FIG. 6 is alsoattached to the substrate, especially useful in the case where theleadframe 20 is very thin.

In one embodiment, the first bonding compound 21 is the same as thesecond bonding compound 40. In another embodiment, the second bondingcompound 40 is chosen to be different. One reason would be the need fora different CTE requirement than the first bonding compound 21, such asbetween the CTE of the semiconductor die 30 and the first bondingcompound 21, due to that the second bonding compound 40 is closer to thesemiconductor die 30.

In one embodiment, instead of using a die attach pad for electricallyinsulating the routing leads 25 from the semiconductor die 30, anon-conductive die attach material is selectively disposed onto apredetermined area of the second side of the substrate 20. In anexemplary embodiment, the predetermined area is the area where thesemiconductor die will be attached to the substrate. In one embodiment,the die attach material is disposed onto the routing leads 25 within thepredetermined area. As such, the area having the die attach material issimilar to the area of the semiconductor die 30.

In an exemplary embodiment as shown in FIG. 15 a, the die attachmaterial 42 is disposed onto a predetermined area of the substrate,covering the second recessed portion 27 within this predetermined area,and also covers the routing leads 25 within this predetermined area by athickness enough for insulating purposes. In another embodiment as shownin FIG. 15 b, the material filling the second recessed portion 27 andthe material disposed on the routing leads 25 are different. Forexample, a first die attach material 42 disposed on the routing leads 25is more thermo-conductive than a second die attach material 44 fillingthe second recessed portion 27, to improve heat dissipation performanceof the semiconductor die 30.

This disposal of the die attach material in the second recessed portion27 improves the quality of encapsulation of the IC package. In theprevious embodiment, a plurality of tunnels defined by the semiconductordie 30 and the second recessed portion 27 will be formed after thesemiconductor die 30 is attached onto the leadframe 20 at thepredetermined area. Depending on the technology and the encapsulationcompound 34 used, these tunnels may not be able to be completely filledwith the encapsulation compound 34 during the encapsulation step. Thatmeans that air bubbles will be formed within the IC package, and it willgreatly hamper the performance of the IC package such as the diedelaminating from the surface or poorer transmission of heat out of thepackage. Disposing the die attach material to fill the second recessedportion 27 before attaching the semiconductor die 30 eliminates suchproblem.

The step of disposing the non-conductive die attach material can beperformed at any time after the substrate is patterned on the secondside and before the semiconductor die 30 is attached. In the embodimentshown in FIGS. 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 the die attach material can be disposedany time after the etching on the second side.

In one embodiment, the non-conductive die attach material is a standarddie attach material used in the industry. In an exemplary embodiment,the CTE of the die attach material is designed to be close to that ofthe semiconductor die 30 as the die attach material is directly beneaththe semiconductor die 30. It is especially advantageous in the casewhere the die attach material is disposed in the second recessed portion27 also as the area and thickness of the die attach material bothincrease.

In yet another exemplary embodiment as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17 a-h, theleadframe 20 is first etched on the first side (step 700, FIG. 17 b),and the first bonding compound 21 is disposed on the first side of theleadframe 20 (step 702, FIG. 17 c). In a specific embodiment, the firstbonding compound 21 is a photolithographic solder mask. The solder maskis then exposed at selected portions to reveal the lands 22 on the firstside of the leadframe 20. In a specific embodiment, the thickness of thesolder mask is less than the depth of the first recessed portion 24, sothe leadframe 20 does not need to be polished to make the solder maskcoplanar with the lands 22. In another embodiment, the first bondingcompound 21 is an epoxy material.

An optional support material 38 is then attached to the leadframe 20 atthe first side, contacting the first bonding compound 21 and the lands22 (step 704, FIG. 17 d). The leadframe 20 is then optionally thinned atthe second side (step 705, FIG. 17 e). The photomask 26 is then disposedon the second side of the leadframe 20 (step 706, FIG. 17 f). Theleadframe 20 is etched on the second side subsequently and the photomask26 is then removed (step 708, FIG. 17 g).

Afterwards, the second bonding compound 40 is disposed on the secondside of the leadframe 20 (step 710, FIG. 17 h). In an exemplaryembodiment, the second bonding compound 40 is a photolithographic soldermask. The solder mask is then exposed at selected portions to reveal thebonding pads 28 on the second side of the leadframe 20. The supportmaterial 38 is then removed from the leadframe 20 (step 712, FIG. 17 i),the solder pads 36 and bonding pads 28 are disposed attached to thelands 22 (step 714, FIG. 17 j), the semiconductor die 30 and the bondingwires 32 are attached (step 716, FIG. 17 k), and the encapsulationcompound 34 is then disposed to cover the semiconductor die 30, thebonding wires 32, the bonding pads 28 and also the second bondingcompound 40 to finish the IC package (step 718, FIG. 17 l).

Using a photolithographic solder mask as the first bonding compound 21and/or the second bonding compound 40 allows the manufacturer toselectively expose a portion of the leadframe 20 while still coveringthe other parts of the leadframe 20. For example, in the embodiment asshown above, only the bonding sites of the routing leads 25 are exposedwhile the rest of the routing leads 25 are still covered by the soldermask. In one embodiment, where the first bonding compound 21 is thesolder mask, the solder mask can be thinner than the depth of the firstrecessed portion 24, and the lands 22 have a clearance to the surface ofthe solder mask. A cross-section diagram of an example substrate using asolder mask as both the first bonding compound 21 and the second bondingcompound 40 is shown on FIG. 18 a.

On the other hand, while an epoxy material is generally stronger, agrinding process is needed to remove the epoxy material from thesubstrate. The result is that the epoxy material must be coplanar to theexposed portions of the leadframe 20, whether it is the lands 22 or therouting leads 25. A cross-section diagram of an example substrate usingan epoxy material as the first bonding compound 21 and a solder mask asthe second bonding compound 40 is shown on FIG. 18 b. One of thebenefits of using epoxy is that the extra strength provided by the epoxymeans that the optional support material 38 is generally not required.

In an exemplary embodiment, extra leadframe material is provided tofurther strengthen the substrate during the manufacturing process.Referring to FIG. 19 a, a support ring 46 is provided surrounding eachindividual unit of the leadframe 20, i.e. routing leads 25, lands 22 ordie attach pad. The first bonding compound 21 and the second bondingmaterial 40 both extends to the support ring 46 during the manufacturingprocess, such that the periphery of the substrate is less likely todisplace or break. In another embodiment, tie bars 48 are attached fromthe support ring 46 to at least one routing lead 25 and may also beattached to the die attach pad 50. Having tie bars 48 further minimizesthe chance that a particular structure becomes loose. Also, standardelectroplating techniques can be applied to the substrate as eachrouting lead 25 is now electrically connected during the manufacturingprocess. The support ring 46 is removed during singulation, thereforethe routing leads 25 are still electrically isolated when in use.

Referring now to FIG. 2 i, an IC package manufactured by the process inFIG. 1 comprises an electrically conductive lead frame leadframe 20. Theleadframe 20 comprises a plurality of lands 22 on a first side of theleadframe with a first recessed portion 24 between lands 22 and aplurality of routing leads 25 on a second side of the leadframe with asecond recessed portion 27 between the routing leads 25. Each land 22 iselectrically connected to a corresponding routing lead 25. A bonding pad28 is disposed on a bonding site of each routing lead.

The IC package also comprises a first bonding compound 21. The firstbonding compound 21 comprises a first portion that fills the firstrecessed portion 24 and a second portion that covers the plurality oflands 22 and the first portion. The IC package comprises a semiconductordie 30 with bonding wires 32 electrically connecting the semiconductordie 30 to the bonding pads 28, and an encapsulation compound 34 fillingthe second recessed portion 27, and also covering the plurality ofrouting leads 25, the plurality of bonding pads 28, the semiconductordie 30 and the bonding wires 32. The first bonding compound 21 contactswith the encapsulation compound 34 at areas common to the first recessedportion 24 and the second recessed portion 27.

In another embodiment of the present invention as shown in FIG. 6 k, theIC package comprises an electrically conductive lead frame leadframe 20.The leadframe 20 comprises a plurality of lands 22 on a first side ofthe leadframe with a first recessed portion 24 between lands 22 and aplurality of routing leads 25 on a second side of the leadframe with asecond recessed portion 27 between the routing leads 25. Each land 22 iselectrically connected to a corresponding routing lead 25. A bonding pad28 is disposed on a bonding site of each routing lead 25.

The IC package also comprises a first bonding compound 21 filling thefirst recessed portion 24. The IC package comprises a semiconductor die30 with bonding wires 32 electrically connecting the semiconductor die30 to the bonding pads 28, and an encapsulation compound 34 filling thesecond recessed portion 27, and also covering the plurality of routingleads 25, the plurality of bonding pads 28, the semiconductor die 30 andthe bonding wires 32. The first bonding compound 21 contacts with theencapsulation compound 34 at areas common to the first recessed portion24 and the second recessed portion 27. The IC package further comprisesa support material 38 attached to the first side of the leadframesubstrate, covering the first bonding compound 21 and the lands 22. Thesecond support material 38 supports the substrate in the manufacturingprocess and is selected to be easily removable.

In another embodiment as shown in FIG. 8 l, the IC package furthercomprises solder pads 36 disposed on the lands 22. The support material38 covers the first bonding compound 21 and the solder pads 36. This ICpackage is ready for attaching to a PCB upon removing the supportmaterial 38 from the IC package.

In yet another embodiment of the IC package as shown in FIG. 12 k, theIC package comprises an electrically conductive lead frame leadframe 20.The leadframe 20 comprises a plurality of lands 22 on a first side ofthe leadframe with a first recessed portion 24 between lands 22 and aplurality of routing leads 25 on a second side of the leadframe with asecond recessed portion 27 between the routing leads 25. Each land 22 iselectrically connected to a corresponding routing lead 25. A bonding pad28 is disposed on a bonding site of each routing lead. A solder pad 36is disposed on each land 22.

The IC package also comprises a first bonding compound 21 filling thefirst recessed portion 24, and a second bonding compound 40 filling thesecond recessed portion 27. The first bonding compound 21 is in contactwith the second bonding compound 40 at areas common to the firstrecessed portion 24 and the second recessed portion 27. The IC packagecomprises a semiconductor die 30 with bonding wires 32 electricallyconnecting the semiconductor die 30 to the bonding pads 28, and anencapsulation compound 34 covering the second bonding compound 40, theplurality of bonding pads 28, the semiconductor die 30 and the bondingwires 32. The IC package is ready to be bonded to an external printedcircuit board through the solder pads 36.

In one embodiment, the IC package also comprises a die attach materialin a predetermined area between the second side of the leadframe 20 andthe semiconductor die 30. In one embodiment, the die attach material isprovided on the routing leads 25 within the predetermined area of theleadframe 20. In another embodiment, the die attach material is providedon the routing leads 25 and also fills the second recessed portion 27between the routing leads 25 within the predetermined area.

In another aspect of the invention, a substrate for manufacturing an ICpackage is provided. A top view of the substrate is shown in FIG. 13,where the cross section along the line A-A is shown in FIG. 2 g. Theexpected area for attachment of the semiconductor die is also shown inFIG. 13 for reference. The substrate comprises an electricallyconductive leadframe 20. The leadframe 20 comprises a plurality of lands22 on a first side of the leadframe with a first recessed portion 24between lands 22 and a plurality of routing leads 25 on a second side ofthe leadframe with a second recessed portion 27 between the routingleads 25. Each land 22 is electrically connected to a correspondingrouting lead 25. A bonding pad 28 is disposed on a bonding site of eachrouting lead 25. The substrate further comprises a first bondingcompound 21, the first bonding compound 21 having a first portionfilling the first recessed portion 24, and a second portion covering thefirst portion and the lands 22 at the first side of the leadframe 20.The first bonding compound 21 is exposed at the second side of theleadframe 20 at areas common to the first recessed portion 24 and thesecond recessed portion 27.

In another embodiment as shown in FIG. 6 i, the first bonding compound21 only has a first portion filling the first recessed portion 24. Thesubstrate further comprises a support material 38 covering the firstbonding compound 21 and the lands 22 at the first side of the leadframe20.

In another embodiment as shown in FIG. 8 j, the substrate furthercomprises solder pads 36 disposed on the lands 22. The support material38 covers the first bonding compound and the solder pads 36 at the firstside of the leadframe.

In yet another embodiment as shown in FIG. 12 i, the substrate comprisesan electrically conductive leadframe 20. The leadframe 20 comprises aplurality of lands 22 on a first side of the leadframe 20 with a firstrecessed portion 24 between lands 22 and a plurality of routing leads 25on a second side of the leadframe 20 with a second recessed portion 27between the routing leads 25. Each land 22 is electrically connected toa corresponding routing lead 25. A bonding pad 28 is disposed on abonding site of each routing lead 25. The substrate further comprises afirst bonding compound 21, the first bonding compound 21 having a firstportion filling the first recessed portion 24. The substrate alsocomprises a second bonding compound 40 filling the second recessedportion 27. The second bonding compound 40 is in contact with the firstbonding compound 21 at areas common to the first recessed portion 24 andthe second recessed portion 27.

In one embodiment, the IC package also comprises a die attach materialin a predetermined area on the second side of the leadframe 20. In oneembodiment, the die attach material is provided on the routing leads 25within the predetermined area of the leadframe 20. In anotherembodiment, the die attach material is provided on the routing leads 25and also fills the second recessed portion 27 between the routing leads25 within the predetermined area. In another embodiment, a first dieattach material is disposed on the routing leads 25 and a second dieattach material is provided filling the second recessed portion 27.

The exemplary embodiments of the present invention are thus fullydescribed. Although the description referred to particular embodiments,it will be clear to one skilled in the art that the present inventionmay be practiced with variation of these specific details. Hence thisinvention should not be construed as limited to the embodiments setforth herein.

For example, the first bonding compound 21 can also be removed by othermeans than mechanical polishing to expose the lands 22, such as etching.

Although the embodiments showed that the steps are performed in aparticular sequence, one skilled in the art can modify the sequence tohis desire without departing from the scope of the invention. Forexample, it is known to one skilled in the art that solder pads 36 canbe disposed at any stage where the lands 22 are exposed, for exampleafter selectively removing the first bonding compound 21, or afterattaching and removing the support material 38.

In one embodiment, the bonding pads 28 are disposed before the definingof the routing leads 25. In such case, the bonding pads 28 can bedisposed using electrolytic plating in addition to electroless platingtechnique.

In one embodiment, the first portion and the second portion of the firstbonding compound 21 is disposed in separate steps instead of in a singlestep.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of manufacturing a substrate for anintegrated circuit package, comprising the steps of: a) patterning aleadframe on a first side forming a plurality of lands and a firstrecessed portion between said plurality of lands; b) disposing a firstbonding compound on said first side of said leadframe, said firstbonding compound having a first portion filling said first recessedportion; c) patterning said leadframe on an opposing second side forminga plurality of electrically isolated routing leads and a second recessedportion between said plurality of routing leads; d) disposing a secondbonding compound on said second side of said leadframe filling at leasta portion of said second recessed portion; and e) disposing a pluralityof bonding pads on said plurality of routing leads; whereby said firstbonding compound prevents displacement of said plurality of routingleads; and combination of said first bonding material and said secondbonding material hold metal features in place during assembly processesof die attach, die to substrate interconnection and encapsulationmolding.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein a lateral extent ofsaid plurality of bonding pads is larger than the size of at least onesemiconductor die adapted to attached thereto.
 3. The method accordingto claim 1, wherein said first bonding compound is an epoxy with acoefficient of thermal expansion between 7 and
 15. 4. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein said first bonding compound is anengineered epoxy, a thermoset or a thermoplastic compound.
 5. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein said second bonding compound has acoefficient of thermal expansion between that of said first bondingcompound and a semiconductor die adapted to attach thereto.
 6. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein said second bonding compoundfurther covers said routing leads, said method further comprises a stepof selectively removing said second bonding compound to expose saidrouting leads.
 7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising astep of attaching a support material on said first side of saidleadframe, said support material attached to and supporting saidplurality of lands, wherein a plurality of solder pads is disposed onsaid plurality of lands before said step of attaching said supportmaterial, such that said support material further covers said pluralityof solder pads.
 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein said firstbonding compound further comprises a second portion extending over saidfirst recessed portion and said leadframe, covering said plurality oflands.
 9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising a step ofselectively disposing a non-conductive die attach material onto saidrouting leads within a predetermined area of said second side of saidleadframe.
 10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising astep of selectively disposing a non-conductive die attach material ontoa predetermined area of said second side of said leadframe, saidnon-conductive die attach material being disposed on said routing leadswithin said predetermined area and also filling said second recessedportion between said routing leads within said predetermined area. 11.The method according to claim 1, wherein said patterning a leadframe ona first side step further forms a support ring surrounding eachindividual unit in said leadframe.
 12. The method according to claim 1,wherein said at least one of said first bonding compound and secondbonding compound is made of a photolithographic material.
 13. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein said first bonding compound is made of anepoxy material and said second bonding compound is made of aphotolithographic material.
 14. The method according to claim 1, whereina lateral extend of at least one of said plurality of routing leads isdisposed between said plurality of lands and is connected to said landlaterally disposed.
 15. The method according to claim 1, wherein saidpatterning a leadframe on a first side step further forms a support ringsurrounding each individual package site in a substrate strip with saidsupport ring having no connection to any of said metal features withinsaid individual package site and said method further comprise a step ofremoving said support ring from said substrate.
 16. The method accordingto claim 1, wherein said second bonding compound is first disposedfilling said second recessed portions and covering said routing leads,and then selectively removed to expose said routing leads.
 17. A methodof manufacturing an integrated circuit package, comprising the steps of:a) providing a substrate comprising the steps of: i patterning aleadframe on a first side forming a plurality of lands and a firstrecessed portion between said plurality of lands; ii disposing a firstbonding compound on said first side leadframe, said first bondingcompound having a first portion filling said first recessed portion; iiipatterning said leadframe on an opposing second side forming a pluralityof electrically isolated routing leads and a second recessed portionbetween said plurality of routing leads; and iv disposing a plurality ofbonding pads on said plurality of routing leads; whereby said firstbonding compound prevents displacement of said plurality of routingleads; b) attaching at least one semiconductor die onto said second sideof said substrate; c) electrically connecting said semiconductor die tosaid plurality of bonding pads through bonding wires; and d)encapsulating said semiconductor die, said bonding wires and saidsubstrate on said second side.
 18. The method according to claim 17further comprising a step of disposing a second bonding compound on saidsecond side of said leadframe, said second bonding compound filling saidsecond recessed portion.
 19. The method according to claim 18, whereinsaid at least one of said first bonding compound and second bondingcompound is made of a photolithographic material.
 20. The methodaccording to claim 18, wherein said first bonding compound is made of anepoxy material and said second bonding compound is made of aphotolithographic material.
 21. The method according to claim 18,further comprising a conductive die attach material selectively disposedover said second bonding material within a predetermined area of saidsecond side of said leadframe.
 22. The method according to claim 17,further comprising a step of attaching a support material on said firstside of said substrate, said support material attached to and supportingsaid plurality of lands; wherein said support material is de-attachedfrom said substrate after said encapsulating step.
 23. The methodaccording to claim 17, wherein said first bonding compound furthercomprises a second portion extending over said first portion and saidleadframe, covering said plurality of lands, said method furthercomprises a step of selectively removing said first bonding compoundsuch that said second portion is removed while said first portionremains disposed on said leadframe.
 24. The method according to claim17, further comprising a step of selectively disposing a non-conductivedie attach material onto said routing leads within a predetermined areaof said second side of said substrate.
 25. The method according to claim17, further comprising a step of selectively disposing a non-conductivedie attach material onto a predetermined area of said second side ofsaid leadframe, said non-conductive die attach material being disposedon said routing leads within said predetermined area and also fillingsaid second recessed portion between said routing leads within saidpredetermined area.
 26. The method according to claim 17, wherein alateral extent of said plurality of bonding pads is larger than the sizeof said semiconductor die.
 27. The method according to claim 17, whereinsaid first bonding compound has a coefficient of thermal expansionbetween 7 and
 15. 28. The method according to claim 17, wherein saidpatterning a leadframe on a first side step further forms a support ringsurrounding each individual unit in said leadframe, said method furthercomprise a step of removing said support ring from said leadframe aftersaid encapsulated step.
 29. The method according to claim 17, wherein alateral extent of at least one of said plurality of routing leads isdisposed between two land features and is connected to said landlaterally disposed.
 30. The method according to claim 17, wherein saidfirst patterning step further forms a support ring surrounding eachindividual package site in a substrate strip with said support ringhaving no connection to any metal features within said individualpackage site and said method further comprises step of removing saidsupport ring from said substrate.
 31. A method of manufacturing asubstrate for an integrated circuit package, comprising the steps of: a)patterning a leadframe on a first side forming a plurality of lands, afirst recessed portion between said plurality of lands, and a supportring surrounding each individual unit in said leadframe; b) disposing afirst bonding compound on said first side of said leadframe, said firstbonding compound having a first portion filling said first recessedportion; c) patterning said leadframe on an opposing second side forminga plurality of routing leads, a second recessed portion between saidplurality of routing leads, at least one said routing lead comprising atie bar connecting said routing lead to said support ring; d) disposinga second bonding compound on said second side of said leadframe fillingat least a portion of said second recessed portion; and e) disposing aplurality of bonding pads on said plurality of routing leads; wherebysaid first bonding compound and said tie bar prevents displacement ofsaid plurality of routing leads; and combination of said first bondingmaterial and said second bonding material hold metal features in placeduring assembly processes of die attach, die to substrateinterconnection and encapsulation molding.
 32. The method according toclaim 31, wherein said first bonding compound is made of an epoxymaterial and said second bonding compound is made of a photolithographicmaterial.